The Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA ), the country’s largest employers’ organization, recommended on Tuesday, November 28, that the government extend the deadline for introducing mandatory blending of imported fuels with biofuels, an initiative included in the Measures for Economic Acceleration Package (EAP).
The extension, according to the Mozambican business community, is due to the necessary investments, including the revision of the Biofuels Policy and Strategy, approved by the Council of Ministers in May 2009.
In a statement, the CTA says that the current policy is outdated and “envisaged jatropha, sweet mapira and copra as strategic products for biofuel production”.
As part of the implementation of measure number 10 of the SAP, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with CTA, organized a business breakfast to present a study evaluating the policy of mandatory blending of biofuels in Mozambique.
The meeting brought together companies and business associations with a direct interest in the production of potential raw materials for biofuels, as well as some biofuel producers and cooperation partners.
In order to implement this measure, the government approved the Regulation on Biofuels and their Mixtures last September, and plans to make it compulsory for blends to begin in 2024.
“The conclusion of the study is that, given the current production capacity of the raw material for biofuels, it will not be feasible to start the obligation in 2024,” reads the statement.
